Browns predicted to make crazy trade to nab two top-10 picks

Billy Heyen

Browns predicted to make crazy trade to nab two top-10 picks image

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The Cleveland Browns appear to be narrowing in on their choice with the No. 2 overall pick in next week's NFL Draft.

Colorado's Travis Hunter is now the projected favorite to head to the shores of Lake Erie.

But what if that's not all for the Browns in the first round?

Bleacher Report's Moe Moton proposed the idea that Cleveland should trade back into the top-10 after selecting Hunter.

His suggested deal: Picks No. 33 and 104 this year, plus 2026 first- and second-round picks, for the Panthers' No. 8 choice.

And at No. 8, Moton wants the Browns to take Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders and keep him with Hunter.

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"It would also uniquely afford the Browns a chance to keep the Sanders-Hunter battery together," Moton wrote. "There's a clear benefit in doing so, as they have a fantastic rapport after playing four seasons together at both Jackson State and Colorado and would be able to hit the ground running in the NFL."

It would be a big haul for the Panthers, especially if they believe Cleveland will struggle enough in 2025 to make that next year first-rounder a top-10 pick.

But it also stops Carolina from getting a sure thing with their own top-10 pick this year.

It likely comes down to whether the Panthers see their preferred selection fall to No. 8, or if a couple of their favorite targets are sniped in front of them.

It'd certainly make Browns one of the NFL's most intriguing teams, a spot the franchise hasn't found itself in very often.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle